Understory Fields
The Land

Three farms, two valleys.

A working farm in Fort Langley, two future plots in the Okanagan. Different climates, different crops, one steward.

Hazel grove · plot 03 · 06:42
No. 01Active

Hazel Grove

Fort Langley · Fraser Valley

21871 100 Avenue, Fort Langley, BC · 5 acres

  • Hazelnut
  • Dahlia & cut flowers
  • Red Russian garlic

Five acres on a south-facing rise above the Fraser. This is where the work is. Hazel grove out back, flower garden behind the new fence, garlic standing tall from October's planting.

The grove went in this spring. One hundred twenty-five trees, mostly Jefferson with Felix, Yamhill and Wepster for pollination. Irrigation laid down in May. First commercial nut harvest expected autumn 2027. Dahlia and zinnia from the bouquet rows late July through the first frost. Garlic lifted in July and cured in the open barn.

Climate
Fraser lowland · cool maritime · 8a
Soil
Fraser silt loam
First harvest
Dahlia 2026 · Garlic 2026 · Hazelnut 2027
Visits
By appointment
Lavender ground · Commonage Road
No. 02Planting forward

The Commonage

Lake Country · Okanagan

15550 Commonage Road, Lake Country, BC · 7 acres

  • Lavender

Seven acres on the Commonage, the dry ridge above Okanagan Lake. The land is unplanted, the soil already right for what's coming: lavender.

Propagation starts at Fort Langley. Cuttings off our front-yard hedge in June will be ready to plant out the following spring. By the second year the rows should be cutting, by the third they hit full bloom. The Commonage is one of the best lavender ground in the country: hot dry summers, sharp drainage, full sun. We are walking it slow and letting it tell us what to plant where.

Climate
Okanagan · hot dry · 6b/7a
Soil
Glacial gravel · well-drained
Planted
Cuttings 2026 · field 2027
First cut
2028 (light) · 2029 (full)
Cherry orchard · Valley Road
No. 03Coming 2029

Valley Road

Kelowna · Okanagan

229 Valley Road, Kelowna, BC · 6.5 acres

  • Cherries

Six and a half acres of stone-fruit ground in Kelowna. Hot summers, well-drained gravel terraces, the kind of land the Okanagan was built on. Cherries.

Staccato, from a nursery, going in this year. Staccato is a late-ripening sweet cherry bred by Agriculture Canada, picking two to three weeks after the main Okanagan harvest. The late window is the point. Four years to the first real crop, with the first commercial harvest on the books for autumn 2029.

Climate
Okanagan · hot dry · 7a
Soil
Gravel bench · stone-fruit ground
Variety
Staccato · late-season
First harvest
Autumn 2029